Dispenser carton



Oct. 4, 1966 R. A. KRzYzANowsKl 3,276,622

DIsPENsR cARToN Filed April 1, 1964 5 Shee'S-Sheet l INVENTOR ROBERT A.KRZYZANOWSKI ATTORNEY Oct. 4, 1966 R; A. KRzYzANowsKl V 3,27622 DIsPENsER cARToN Filed April 1, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE NTOR ROBERT A. KRZYZANOWSKI BY w ATTORNEY Oct- 4, 1966 R. A. KRzYzANowsKl 3,276,622

DISPENSER GARTON 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April l, 1964 INVENTOR ROBERT A. KRZYZANOWSKI BY w/mw AT TORNEY United States Patent O 3,276,622 DISPENSER CARTON Robert A. Krzyzanowski, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Milprint, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporatiou of Delaware Filed Apr. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 356,485 4 Claims. (Cl. 221-37) This invention relates to a carton for packaging articles, which carton includes a movable member that is adapted to dispense articles packed in the carton by being rotated to engage an article in the carton and, upon 'continued rotation, rai-se the article or a portion of the article out of the carton to a dispensed position where it can be grasped and withdrawn from the carton.

S'everal types of articles can be difrlcult to remove from a carton in which they are packaged, particularly when a group of similar articles are stacked in a carton and it is desired to remove one article at a time. A stack of folded paper tisuses, such as facial tissues, is an example 'of one type of article that is normally to be removed one at a time from a box or 'carton in which the tissue is packed. When such tissues are stacked without interleaving it is often quite diflicult for the user to reach into the carton and pick out only one tissue at a time. Other articles of this general type include paper napkins, business forms, carbon paper, paper and plastic bags, etc. Articles that tend to cling to one another due to static electricity charges can also be especially difiicult to re- 'move singly from a box or carton. Packagin'g of the foregoing types of articles has led to a need for cartons that will facilitate removal of one article at a time from a carton.

Also in connection with the packaging of articles of the above nature which are norma-lly used singly, the user may occasionally `desire to remove several articles from the box :at one time. Further, it is often desirable that a 'carton used to package such articles include provision for reclosing the opening through which the articles are removecl from the carton to protect the articles remaining in th'e carton until it is'` desired to withdraw them.

Thus, various packaging applications have 'rendered desirable a carton that will satisfy the conflictin'g demands of facilitating the remova'l of one article from a group packed in a carton, permit the removal of a group of articles, and also enable reclosing of the dispensing opening whende'sired.

An object of this invention is to provide a carton that includes a movable member which can be rotated to dispense an article packed in the carton by raising =at least a portion of the article outside the carton in a dispensed position where it can be grasped' by the user for removal'.

Other objects of this invention are to provide a carton that will permit removing several articles if desired while facilitating the removal' of only one article, that will include an opening through which articles are dispensed upon movement of a dispensing member and which can be at least partially reclosed upon -rotation of a dispensing member, and that includes a movable dispensing member defined as a portion of the carton wall which can be manipulated to dispense an article from Within the carton. These and other more specific objects, including particular carton structures for attaining these objects, will be 'moreV apparent in the description which follows.

3,276,6Z2 Patented Oct. 4, 1966 "ice In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown, by way Iof illustration, a specific form in which this invention may be practiced. This form will be described in detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice this invention, but it is to be understood that other embodiments of the invention may be used and that structural changes in the embodiment described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true scope of the present invention. The scope of this invention is best defined by the appended claims and limitations set out in the following detailed description need not be taken in a limiting sense.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carton 'constructed in accordance with this invention in its initial closed condition;

FIGS. 2-5 are secti'onal end views taken along a center line of the carton of FIG. -1 showing a sequence of steps in the movement of the rotatable dispenser member of the carton;

FIG. 6 i's a perspective view of the lcarton of FIG. 1 with the rotatable dispenser member in the final position of its dispensing operation wherein an article from inside the carton has been raised to a dispensed position;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a blank that can be folded to form the carton shown in FIGS. 1-6; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of the carton of FIG. l.

The carton indicated generally as 10 in the d-rawings h-as a carton wall including a top wall 11, a bottom wall 12, front wall 13, rear wall 14, and end walls 15 and 16 arranged to define a rectangular container body for packaging articles. Each wal-l may be 1a single panel or several panels or flaps join'ed together. The carton is best made of foldable material, for example, paperboard, and a single blank of material suitably cut and scored to define the various wall elements and flaps which can be folded together to form the carton 10 will be he'reinafter described. A stack 35 of tissues is shown as being packed inside the carton 10 in FIGS. 2-6, with each tissue being folded to have an edge portion on its upper surface, as indicated by the topmost tissue 36 and its folded edge portion 37.

In accordance With one form of this invention, a rotatable dispense'r 'member 17 is defined as a movable part of the carton wall by suitable cut lines, perforated lines and score lines for-med in the top wall 11 and front w'all 13. In the several drawings, the cut lines are shown as solid lines to indicate that they extend entirely through the wall; the perforated lines are shown as dashed lines consisting of cut portions that extend through the wall joined by unc'ut portions of the wall; and the score lines are shown as dotted lines to indicate that they are not cut through the carton but are formed in the carton wall to facilitate folding of the wall along the score lines. Each of these three diiferent forms of lin'es can be made by any suitable equipment conventional in the converting arts.

Referring specifically to FIG. l, the rotatable dispenser member 17 comprises a first edge of generally U-shaped configuration, a second edge also of generally U-shaped configuration, in which the first and second edges are separated from one another and joined by score lines. For clarity, the first edge of the dispenser member will be referred to as the rear edge and the second edge as the front edge in the following description, but these terms are used in a non-limiting sense. The first or rear edge of the dispenser member 17 is shown herein as including a closed end portion formed by perforated line 18 extending partially across the carton in a longitudinal direction. One side of the rear edge of the member 17 is defined by an inclined cut line 19 starting at one end of the perforated line 18 and extending toward the end wall 15, and a short perforated line 20 extending from the end of the cut line 19 axially across the top wall towards the front wall 13. The other side -of the rear edge of the dispenser member 17 is defined by a cut line 19a and perforated line 20a, both of which are similar in arrangement and form to cut line 19 and perforated line 20 respectively. The rear edge, comprising perforated line 18, cut lines 19, 19a and perforated lines 20, 20a, is arranged in the top wall 11 with its open end facing the hinge line 21 between the top panel 11 and the front panel 13.

The second or front edge of the rotatable dispenser member 17 is also of generally U-shaped configuration and includes a closed end formed by perforated line 22 lying in the front wall 13. One side of the front edge comprises a cut line 23 extending upwardly to the hinge line 21 from one end of perforated line 22, a cut line 24 shown as including a straight portion 25 extending axially across the top wall 11 of the carton and an inclined portion 26 extending from the end of line 25 towards the end wall 15. The opposite side of the front edge is formed by cut line 23a and cut line 24a, consisting of cut lines 25a and 26a, that are the same as 23, 24, 25 and 26 respectively. When formed in this manner, the open end of the generally U-shaped front edge faces the open end of the generally U-shaped rear edge of the dispenser member 17 and has its sides outside of the sides of the rear edge, so that one side of the front edge is positioned outside of and adjacent to a side of the rear edge and the other side of the front edge is similarly positioned outside of and adjacent the other side of the rear edge.

Hinges are defined by score lines formed in the top wall 11 to define hinge portions which join each side of the front edge to its adjacent side of the inner edge. A first hinge 27 is defined by a score line which extends from the end of the side 24 to the end of the cut line 19 of a leg of the rear edge and similarly, a second hinge 27a is defined by a score line which extends from the end of side 24a of the front edge to ntersect the cut line 19a of its adjacent side of the rear edge. A third hinge 28 is defined by a score line which extends from the side 24 to the end of the perforated line 20 of its adjacent side of the rear edge, and a fourth hinge 28a is defined by a score line which extends from the side 24a of the front edge to the end of the perforated line 20a of its adjacent side of the rear edge. As indicated in FIG. 1, there is a segment -of the carton wall between the first hinge 27 and third hinge 28 and another segment between the second hinge 27a and fourth hinge 28a.

When defined in the foregoing manner, the dispenser member 17 is an integral part of the wall of the carton and aids in forming the carton body. Articles can be packed in the carton in the usual manner and the member 17 will not interfere with the carton's normal packaging use, such as in enclosing the stack 35 of tissue.

However, when the carton 10 is opened, the member 17 is movable to dispense articles from the carton. To accornplish this, the perforated lines 18, 20, 20a and 22 are severed, as by squeezing together the panels or pressing the perforated lines 'with a fingernail, tool or other suitable means, to separate the rear and front edges of the member from the carton wall along the perforated line segments. The hinges 27, 27a and 28, 28a are not severed, however, so that the dispenser member 17 remains attached to the top wall 11 of the carton along the hinges 27 and 27a. The hinges 27 and 27a form a pivot axis on which the dispenser member 17 can be rotated in its dispensing operation. Referring now to FIG. 2, the front edge of the dispenser member 17 is grasped between the users fingers and lifted upwardly so that the dispenser member 17 will rotate about the hinges 27 and 27a in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrows. Upon continued rotation in this fashion, the rear edge of the dispenser member 17 sweeps across the topmost tissue 36 of the stack 35 as shown in FIG. 3, proceeds to engage the tissue under its folded edge 37, FIG. 4, and then advance the edge 37 of the tissue to a dispensed position outside the carton 10 as shown in FIG. 5. The latter position is also shown in FIG. 6, and it can be seen that the user merely grasps the dispensed edge 37 of the tissue that has been moved out of the carton by rotation of the dispenser member 17 and then remove the tissue from the carton.

Upon withdrawal of one tissue as described above, the user then rotates dispenser member 17 to repeat the process to dispense another tissue. When it is desired to close the carton, the dispenser member 17 is rotated in a clockwise direction to the position as shown in FIG. 1 in which it serves .to substantially close the opening in the carton and give protection to its contents. While the dispenser member thus facilitates the removal of one article from the carton, it will not interfere with removal of several articles at one time if it is made large enough for a persons hand to fit through its opening in the carton wall; then, the user can merely reach into the carton underneath the dispenser and grasp a group of articles.

The hinges 28 and 28a serve to facilitate in rotating the dispenser member 17 through its various positions and also aid in permitting downward movement of the rear edge of the dispenser member into the carton interior. When the Stack of articles in the carton decreases in height as the tissues are removed, the presence of the hinges 28, 28a renders it possible to push the rear edge of the dispenser member 17 inside the carton as low as is necessary to reach the bottommost article. This would be diflicult to do, where, 'as in the carton illustrated, the distance between the perforated line 18 and the hinges 27 and 27a is less than the depth of the carton between its top and bottom walls. However, in an appropriate instance the hinges 28 and 28a and the perforated lines 20 and 20a can be eliminated in the practice of this invention as illustrated by carton 10a shown in FIG. 8.

A carton incorporating the present invention can be suitably erected from a single blank of foldable material cut and scored to define the various panels, flaps and the dispenser member. A blank of this nature is illustrated in FIG. 7. The blank 40 includes axial score lines 41 and 42 and longitudinal score lines 43, 21, 44, and 45 that extend at right angles to score lines 41 and 42 to define therebetween the bottom wall 12, front wall 13, top wall 11 and rear wall 14 of the carton. The blank 40 is further cut to define a flap 46 that extends from the bottom wall and is joined to the rear wall 14 When the carton is assembled. The ends of the blank are cut to define flaps 47, 48, 49 and 50 which are folded and joined together to form end wall 15 of the carton when it is assembled; at the other end, the blank' is cut to define flaps 51, 52, 53 and 54 which are folded and joined together to form the end wall 16 of the carton when it is assembled. The several flaps and panels can be joined together by means of any suitable means, such as adhesive, fasteners, heatseal seams when appropriate material is used, or they can be joined by interlocking tab and slit combinations. The top wall 11 and front wall 13 of the blank 40 are cut, scored, and perforated to define the various lines associated With the dispenser member 17 as described above.

The carton thusly described as incorporating the present invention may be modified in a variety of ways and still be within the scope of this invention. While the sides of the first edge portion have been shown herein as comprising inwardly bent straight sides and the sides of the second edge portion have been shown as outwardly bent straight sides, either one or both sets of sides can have a variety of shapes; they may be defined by curved lines, defined by straight lines without any bends, by lines flared inwardly or outwardly, etc. Although shown as being defined in two intersecting walls of the carton, the dispenser member may also be defined in only one carton wall. The dispenser member may be defined entirely by perforated lines for each of its two edge portions, which perforations can be severed when it is desired to open the box and actuate the dispenser member, or the cut line and perforated line segments of the edge portions as shown herein can be rearranged. The term U-shaped as used in the description and in the claims with reference to the first and second edges of the dispenser member is also meant to embrace within its definition C-shaped or arcuate edges formed of a single curved line instead of a 3-element configuration as in a strictly U-shape. Other modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the carton art upon a reading of the preceding disclosure. It is to be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of this invention herein set forth for the purposes of illustration which do not constitute a departure from the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a carton of the type having a carton wall including a plurality of panels arranged to define a carton interior for the packaging of articles, the improvement comprising a rotatable dispenser member formed as a movable part of the carton wall and including a first edge, a second edge separate from the first edge, and hinges between the first edge and second edge and connecting the member to the carton wall; said first edge being of generally U-shaped configuration including a closed end portion and two spaced sides defined in the carton wall; said second edge being of generally U-shaped configuration including a closed end portion and two spaced sides defined in the carton wall, and arranged with its open end facing the open end of the first edge with its spaced sides outside of the spaced sides of the first edge; and said hinges comprising a first hinge eX- tending from the end of one side of the second edge to intersect its adjacent side of the first edge, and a second hinge extending from the end of the other side of the second edge to intersect its adjacent side of the first edge; wherein the dispenser member is separable from the carton wall along its first and second edges and adapted to be rotated about an aXis defined by said hinges to swing one of said edges through the carton interior to engage an article packaged therein and raise at least a portion of the article out of the carton to a dispensed position.

2. In a carton of the type having a carton wall including a plurality of panels arranged to define a carton interior for the packaging of articles, the improvement comprising a rotatable dispenser member formed as a movable part of the carton wall and including a first edge, a second edge separate from the first edge, and hinges between the first edge and second edge and connecting the mem- -ber to the carton wall; said first edge having a generally U-shaped configuration including an end portion comprising a perforated line and two spaced sides each comprising a cut line and a perforated line extending from the end of each cut line; said second edge having a generally U-shaped configuration including an end portion comprising a perforated line and two spaced sides each comprising a cut line, one of said sides being positioned outside of and adjacent to one side of the first edge and the other of said sides being positioned outside of and adjacent to the other side of the first edge; and said hinges comprising a first hinge extending from the end of one side of the second edge to intersect its adjacent side of the first edge at the junction of its cut line and perforated line, and a second hinge extending from the end of the other side of the second edge to intersect its adjacent side of the first edge at the junction of its cut line and perforated line; wherein the dispenser member is separable from the carton wall upon severance of the perforated lines of the sides and end portions of its first and second edges and is rotatable about an aXis defined by said hinges to swing one of said edges through the carton interior to engage an article packaged therein and raise at least a portion of the article out of the carton to a dispensed position.

3. In a carton of the type having a carton wall including a plurality of panels arranged to defiine a carton interior for the packaging of articles, the improvement comprising a rotatable dispenser member formed as a movable part of the carton wall and including a first edge, a second edge separate from the first edge, and hinges between the first edge and second edge and connecting the member to the carton wall; said first edge having a generally U-shaped configuration including an end portion comprising a perforated line and two spaced sides each comprising a cut line and a perforated line extending from the end of each cut line; said second edge having a generally U-shaped configuration including an end portion comprising a perforated line and two spaced sides each comprising a cut line, one of said sides being positioned outside of and adjacent to one side of the first edge and the other of said sides being positioned outside of and adjacent to the other side of the first edge; and said hinges comprising a first hinge extending from the end of one side of the second edge to intersect its adjacent side of the first edge at the junction of its cut line and perforated line, a second hinge extending from the end of the other side of the second edge to intersect its adjacent side of the first edge at the junction of its cut line and perforated line, a third hinge extending from the one side of the second edge to the said junction of its adjacent side of the first edge, and a fourth hinge extending from the other side of the second edge to the said junction of its adjacent side of the first edge there being a segment of the carton wall between the first hinge and third hinge and a segment of the carton wall between the second hinge and the fourth hinge; wherein the dispenser member is separable from the carton wall upon severance of the perforated lines of the sides and end portions of its first and second edges and is rotatable about an axis defined by said first and second hinges to swing one of said edges through the carton interior to engage an article packaged therein and raise at least a portion of the article out of the carton to a dispensed position.

4. In a carton of the type having a carton wall comprising a plurality of panels, including a top panel and a front panel joined to the top panel along a front hinge line, arranged to define a carton interior for the packaging of similar articles, the improvement comprising a rotatable dispenser member formed as a movable part of the carton wall and including a rear edge, a front edge separate from the rear edge, and hinges between the front edge and rear edge and connecting the member to the carton wall; said rear edge having a generally U-shaped configuration 'defined in the top panel of the carton and including a closed end portion comprising a perforated lline and two spaced sides each comprising a cut line and a perforated line extending from the end of each cut line; said front edge having a generally U-shaped configuration including an end portion comprising a perforated line defined in the front panel of the carton and two spaced sides each comprising a cut line, with part of each said cut line defined in the top panel of the carton and part defined in the front panel, one of said sides being positioned outside of and adjacent to one side of the rear edge and the other of said sides being positioned outside of and adjacent to the other side of the rear edge; and said hinge comprising a first hinge extending from the end of one side of the front edge to intersect its adjacent side of the rear edge at the junction of its cut line and perforated line, and a second hinge extending from the end of the other side of the front edge to intersect its adjacent side of the rear edge; Wherein the dispenser member s separable from the carton wall upon severance of the perforated lines of the sides and end portions of its first and second edges and is rotatable about an axis defined by said first and second hinges to swing the rear edge through the carton interior to engage an article packaged therein and raise at least a portion of the article. out of the carton to a dispensed position.

8 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,158,550 11/1915 Parsons 221 36 X 5 2,826,334 3/1958 Musler 221-63 X 2,849,152 8/1958 Tuttle 221-48 3,012,692 12/1961 Petersen 221-63 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. 10 LOUIS J. DEMBO, Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A CARTON OF THE TYPE HAVING A CARTON WALL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF PANELS ARRANGED TO DEFINE A CARTON INTERIOR FOR THE PACKAGING OF ARTICLES, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A ROTATABLE DISPENSER MEMBER FORMED AS A MOVABLE PART OF THE CARTON WALL AND INCLUDING A FIRST EDGE, A SECOND EDGE SEPARATE FROM THE FIRST EDGE, AND HINGES BETWEEN THE FIRST EDGE AND SECOND EDGE AND CONNECTING THE MEMBER TO THE CARTON WALL; SAID FIRST EDGE BEING OF GENERALLY U-SHAPED CONFIGURATION INCLUDING A CLOSED END PORTION AND TWO SPACED SIDES DEFINED IN THE CARTON WALL; SAID SECOND EDGE BEING OF GENERALLY U-SHAPED CONFIGURATION INCLUDING A CLOSED END PORTION AND TWO SPACED SIDES DEFINED IN THE CARTON WALL AND ARRANGED WITH ITS OPEN END FACING THE OPEN END OF THE FIRST EDGE WITH ITS SPACED SIDES OUTSIDE OF THE SPACED SIDES OF THE FIRST EDGE; AND SAID HINGES COMPRISING A FIRST HINGE EXTENDING FROM THE END OF ONE SIDE OF THE SECOND EDGE TO INTERSECT ITS ADJACENT SIDE OF THE FIRST EDGE, AND A SECOND HINGED EXTENDING FROM THE END OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SECOND EDGE TO INTERSECT ITS ADJACENT SIDE OF THE FIRST EDGE; WHEREIN THE DISPENSER MEMBER IS SEPARABLE FROM THE CARTON WALL ALONG ITS FIRST AND SECOND BY SAID HINGE TO SWING BE ROTATED ABOUT AN AXIS DEFINED BY SAID HINGES TO SWING ONE OF SAID EDGES THROUGH THE CARTON INTERIOR TO ENGAGE AN ARTICLE PACKAGED THEREIN AND RAISE AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE ARTICLE OUT OF THE CARTON TO A DISPENSED POSITION. 